ORIGIN

Little Goat: 1996 Yamaha XT225 Serow

This 1996 Yamaha XT225 Serow was bought new, ridden for 63 miles and then stored for 15 years. The Serow has an avid following, especially in Japan and Europe, and a reputation as a little adventure-touring motorcycle that delivers far more fun and utility than it’s size might indicate. It’s perfect for smaller or beginner riders and yet somehow plenty of fun for the experienced. We watched this one sell once a short time ago, but thanks to a flakey buyer it’s available again. Find it here on eBay in Alexander, North Carolina with a $2,500 BIN.

The XT225 has an 18hp air-cooled SOHC, single cylinder four-stroke engine and a broad ratio 6 speed transmission. It’ll get up to around 60mph, but it’s not a highway machine by any means. There’s a single disc up front and a drum in the rear. The telescopes give 226 mm, almost 9 inches, of travel. In the back the adjustable mono-shock gives 145mm of travel. The seat is 31.9 inches and the bike weighs 238 pounds dry – easy to see why it’s perfect for smaller riders. The gas tank only holds 2.3 gallons, but that’s not too bad when you can get 85 mpg, as we’ve seen claimed by some owners.

While small in stature and not overly-powerful, the Serow is no toy. Note the hefty aluminum bash plate, front disc shroud, canary-yellow fork gaiters and the rally-type fairing rising up to protect the instruments. Designed to get dirty and ride hard, it’s a nimble and ultra-reliable bike, and every bit as serious an adventure tourer as it’s larger cousins. It’s also tons of fun to just thrash around the trails.

For a good look at what the Serow can do, be sure to check out loisontheloose.com for some great pictures of a Serow working hard. Lois’ first big ride was 20,000 miles on the Serow, from Anchorage, Alaska to the tip of Argentina, without a hitch. Here’s a short clip of Lois on some of her adventures – mostly riding a later XT500, but its worth checking out for the goofy Yamaha ad music. She’s not the only one pushing the bike hard – John Hutch did 1050 miles, fully loaded, across Iceland on an XT225 Serow. Like we said, the Serow is small, but it’s no joke.

The XT225 Serow was available for a number of years in this design, until 2007. And Yamaha is still selling a 250cc version, incuding a sweet 25th anniversary Japan-only edition for 2011. Yamaha has sold tons of these over the years, so parts, accesories, mods and fellow riders are all easy to find. But here’s a chance to own one of the ‘classic’ years of the model, in as close to new condition as imaginable, for less than half the price but all of the fun.